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Steve M Caraco
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    • NAME: "Stephen M. Caraco" (I'm half Italian, half Canadian)

    HOME: North Billerica (Boston area), Massachusetts

    YEARS COLLECTING: 12 (my collection more or less "peaked" in October of 1992)

    WHY MADONNA?: Always something new, great music, interesting artist to follow, beautiful woman, great role model!

    NAME OF WEB SITE: "MADONNA CATALOG WEB SITE"

    WHERE IS IT: MadonnaCatalog.Com

    INFO ON THE SITE: I started printing and distributing printed "for sale" catalogs in about 1993. I purchased the domain name "madonnacatalog.com" in October of 1996, and started the web site in January of 1997. In less than two years, my web stie has grown to become one of the most popular Madonna web sites on the entire internet. It now includes great collector's guides, information, and photos, as well as a huge variety of items for sale. Thanks to a large amount of fan and customer feedback and input, my web page is a one-stop shop for the latest info, hottest items, and collector's guides.

    STEVE'S COLLECTION: My personal collection covers every single era of Madonna's career (all of her albums, movies, appearances, etc.).

    • One of the "oldest" items in my collection is an original 4-track studio demo tape, that Madonna recorded with EMMY, on November 30, 1980.
    • I also have an original studio DAT master tape of the GOTHAM recordings ("I Want You", "Love On The Run", "Get Up" and "High Society").
    My collection includes records, cassettes, compact discs, magazines, photos, posters, memorabilia, and much more. The era for which I probably have the most stuff is for "Ray Of Light" - so much stuff, in fact, that I have assembled a complete collector's guide to "Ray Of Light"

      STEVE'S FAVOURITE ITEMS:
    • 1. Ray Of Light "Astro Baby" lava lamp -only ten made in the whole world! - worth approx. $1,500
    • 2. Ray Of Light Fiber-Optic UFO lamp - only ten made in the whole world, worth approx. $1,500 (Picture here)
    • 3. Studio DAT master of the four "Gotham" recordings - PRICELESS!! (info on these 4 tracks can be seen here.
    • 4. My "Erotica" collector's display case, includes the rare "Erotica" picture disc, and other related items (Picture here)
    • 5. My gold and platinum record awards (I currently have seven different ones in my collection)
    • 6. My "EMMY" display, with a rare 4-track demo tape, and radio release contract signed "Madonna Ciccone" (the signature alone is worth a couple thousand) (See it here!)
    • 7. ISLAND magazine (USA, Sept. 1983) - her very first magazine cover! (Pictured here)
    • 8. "Like A Prayer" UK promo Box set - a beautiful item, for one of Madonna's most beautiful albums! (pictured here)
    • 9. An original, one-of-a-kind animation production cel from the opening sequence of the film "Who's That Girl," completely hand-drawn and painted, and framed museum-style with 3-D custom matting (pictured here). The exact still-frame of the movie that the cel is from can be seen here
    • 10. I also have an empty can of Diet Coke that Madonna drank from, right in front of me, then autographed in blue marker, then gave to me! It's from when I met her after the Blond Ambition concert in Worcester, Massachusetts - A night I will NEVER forget!

    STEVE'S MOST INTERESTING COLLECTABLE & WHY: - Probably the "Erotica" picture disc, because of the interesting story behind it (to read more about this item, go here). Other interesting items (because of their obscureness or rarity) include my 8-track tape albums, acetates, autographs, record awards, etc.

      STEVE'S TOP-TEN COLLECTABLES WANTED & WHY:
    • 1. First of all, there are several rare songs that Madonna recorded, that I still can't find. Some of these rare titles include "Sunshine," (from 1980); "Warning Signs" (from 1984); "Desperately Seeking Susan" (from 1985); "Love Over The Telephone" (from 1987; with Don Johnson); "Big Bucks" (from 1988); "First A Kiss" and "Love Attack" (two songs rejected from the "Like A Prayer" album), etc.
    • 2. "With Penn In Hand" bootleg CD - I've heard that this CD contains unreleased demo versions of songs from the "True Blue" album, and I'd love to hear them!
    • 3. I would love to get perfect-sounding copies of Junior Vasquez's remixes for "I Want You," "One More Chance," "Take A Bow," "Like A Prayer," and his brand-new mix for "The Power Of Good-Bye."
    • 4. I am also dying to get all of the Trouser Enthusiasts' remixes for songs from the "Ray Of Light" album that they did.
    • 5. I would KILL for an original USA promo poster for Madonna's first album - the one featuring a beautiful photo by Steven Meisel, where Madonna's standing against a wall, with her arms out, wearing all the bracelets and stuff - I've only seen this once before, and haven't been able to find one since.
    • 6. I used to have the Canadian 12" promo single for "Like A Virgin," pressed on beautiful white vinyl, but stupidly, I sold it, and I would love to get another one to fill the gap in my collection.
    I can only think of those six items for now, because everything else that I ever wanted, I already have!!!

    ITEMS FOR SALE RIGHT NOW: All really rare and "investment" type items are listed for sale at http://www.madonnacatalog.com/invest.htm. By this Sunday, I will also be getting an in-house studio DAT master for the two Club 69 Remixes for "Nothing Really Matters." I haven't decided if I'll sell this item yet; but if I do, it will probably be somewhere around $300 to $400, since these remixes might never be released.

    THE FUTURE FOR STEVE: I hope someday to become THE authority on Madonna collecting - I already have a huge database of over 1,000 people around the world who also love and/or collect Madonna, and I have become one of the most trusted names in Madonna Collecting today. Since 1992, I have been collecting hi-res photos of rare items, and a whole slew of information; as I plan to write an "end-all, be-all" collector's BOOK for Madonna, which will hopefully be published someday.

    STEVE'S WORDS OF WISDOM: NEVER give up when looking for that certain piece for your collection, and always know the difference between a worthless "bootleg" item, and a true "genuine" rarity. Just because something has Madonna's name on it, and/or it seems "old," doesn't mean it's worth a lot of money!

    STEVE'S COLLECTION ILLUSTRATED: Many photos from my collection can be seen at http://www.madonnacatalog.com/collections.htm

    Many Thanks to Steve M Caraco from MadonnaCatalog Web Site.